Experiencing Innate Joy!

I have been playing this past week with the idea of THOUGHT vs thinking!

My understanding of the Principle of Thought is that it’s a neutral, formless tool for us to use. Thoughts aren’t self-generated, meaning that we don’t create thoughts. They float through our mind much like clouds pass by in the sky.

If you don’t agree with me then how do you explain that thought of your sister popping into your mind. You hadn’t thought about her for days, but all a sudden she was in your mind. Did you create it and then become surprised because all of a sudden you thought of her? Did it just appear?

Or how about all those times when you found yourself thinking of something and wondering where they come from. Did you create those thoughts or did they just appear?

Thoughts drift through our awareness all the time.

Now you’re beginning to get the idea of what a THOUGHT is, so let’s look at how this neutral thought becomes ‘thinking’.

Stop reading for a moment and pay attention to what you are thinking.

What did you notice?

Were you arguing with me in your head? Where you listing all the ways you think I’m crazy? If you were that is great, now we can look at thinking.

I am going to ask you one more question, when you were noticing your thoughts was there a certain amount of emotion attached to that thinking?

I am guessing the answer to that is yes, right?

THOUGHTS are a gift from creation that provide us with a bridge from the formless to the form. These thought forms are neutral. There is no emotional charge in the words boy, car, dog, house.

BUT, if you’ve experienced a dog attack in the past there will be an emotional charge attached to the thought form of dog. Where does this emotional charge come from? It comes from our personal mind or little mind/ego. The thought form dog is neutral, but your personal mind digs up your memory of dog and you immediately feel the terror of the dog attack even if happened years ago.

I find it so amazing how quickly the thought of ‘house’ can turn into: bungalow, open-concept,three-bedroom, two and half bath, granite countertops, soaker tub, fireplace, deck and attached garage. This happens even without us being aware that it’s happening. This is an example of how a THOUGHT becomes thinking.

Thinking comes weighted down with our preferences, likes, dislikes, beliefs, judgements and labels, which in turn carry an emotional charge. This house I created above is now equated with happiness and a whole different set of thinking about how life will be when…

Thinking tends to keep our focus outside ourselves. It’s focus is on the external environment. When we are in our thinking mode we are deep in the world of form bouncing from emotion to emotion.

THOUGHTS, on the other hand come from within. They reflect our creative powers and infinite possibilities. They are connected the creative force of Universal Mind where all is possible.

Operating from THOUGHT, as opposed to thinking, creates a flow of action with less stress and more ease. The THOUGHT appears and you move with it without letting thinking weigh it down.

Spend sometime today noticing when you are moving through life easily and when there is resistance. Then pay attention to what thoughts precedent the action. What do you notice?

As Sydney Banks says: “It is what we as human put into our thoughts, that dictate what we think of life.”